Fallujah: Napalm By Any Other Name
Napalm = "Mark 77" or "Mark of the Beast."
In August last year, the United States admitted dropping the
internationally-banned incendiary weapon of napalm on Iraq, despite
earlier denials by the Pentagon that the "horrible" weapon had not been
used in the three-week invasion of Iraq.
The Pentagon said it had not tried to deceive. It drew a distinction
between traditional napalm, first invented in 1942, and the weapons
dropped in Iraq, which it calls Mark 77 firebombs. They weigh 510lbs,
and consist of 44lbs of polystyrene-like gel and 63 gallons of jet fuel.
Officials said that if journalists had asked about the firebombs their
use would have been confirmed. A spokesman admitted they were
"remarkably similar" to napalm but said they caused less environmental
damage.
But John Pike, director of the military studies group
GlobalSecurity.Org, said: *"You can call it something other than napalm
but it is still napalm. It has been reformulated in the sense that they
now use a different petroleum distillate, but that is it. The US is the
only country that has used napalm for a long time. I am not aware of
any other country that uses it." Marines returning from Iraq chose to
call the firebombs "napalm".
Mr Musil said the Pentagon's effort to draw a distinction between the
weapons was outrageous. He said: "It's Orwellian. They do not want the
public to know. It's a lie."
In an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, Marine Corps Maj-Gen
Jim Amos confirmed that napalm was used on several occasions in the war.
More word games at the Pentagon. They've recently denied reports that
they used napalm against troops in Iraq. Reporters have claimed they
did and so to have Air Force pilots We napalmed both those bridge
approaches said one.
Turns out the weapons used were "remarkably similar" to napalm, the
firebombing agent used extensively during the Vietnam War. Those
burning Vietnamese kids running from giant orange balls of fire in the
classic pictures were being "napalmed." Highly controversial, it was
banned by a United Nations convention in 1980 that the United States
refused to sign. The U.S. did claim to have destroyed its napalm
arsenal two years ago but here it is napalming Iraqi troops.
When is napalm not napalm? When you switch gasoline for for jet fuel
apparently. The new not-napalm has the happy name of "Mark 77," which
sounds more like the latest boy band than the latest firebombing agent.
Marine spokesperson Col. Michael Daily explained the difference between
the gasoline of napalm and jet fuel of Mark 77 in a recent email:
This additive has significantly less of an impact on the environment.
Nice to know the Pentagon is environmentally-senstive when it's roasting people alive.
Rice Says; The American People Were Told About The Generational Commitment to Iraq
That's not true. To build support for the war the administration told
the American people that the conflict in Iraq will be short and
affordable.
In war, truth is the first casualty. This bit of ancient wisdom means
that many a soldier and civilian died because politicians lied. The War
in Iraq is certainly no exception. In fact, this bloody war may well be
the poster child for war on truth.
We were told Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and posed an imminent
threat to US security. It did not. We were told war was the last
resort. It was not. We were told, some 1500 American lives ago, that
the mission was accomplished. It is not, and the carnage continues.
Revelations of some hard truths in the past month alone prove that this
ugly war was predetermined many months before the invasion; that
intelligence was fixed to justify an invasion; that a massive air
assault against Iraq occurred well before the invasion; and that
napalm-like weaponry was used against the Iraqi people during the
invasion.
The only WMDs are the weapons of mass deception emanating from The
White House. We once had a President named George who could not tell a
lie. Now we have one who cannot tell the truth.
As Republican Senators publicly proclaim that the situation if Iraq is
eroding, we learn that there is no "exit strategy" because no exit is
planned.
Not strictly a lie, just a new reality. They told us a long time ago
that they would change reality whenever they wanted to change it. The "Enduring Bases" are designed for an occupancy of at least thirty years OR til Iraq runs out of oil.
Neo-con Dynasty--puts me in mind of a poem that is especially bitter, given that this is father's day:
A Dead Statesman
I could not dig, I dared not rob, And so I lied to please the mob. Now all my lies are proved untrue, And I must face the men I slew. What tale will serve me here among Mine angry and defrauded young?
